Accusations Could Hurt Civil-rights Settlement

The Nation - In Brief

December 20, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO -- Accusations against an attorney who worked on a federal case in which black farmers claimed the government denied them loans because of their race could affect the landmark civil-rights settlement. Margaret O'Shea, 38, faces charges that she worked as a public defender without a license to practice law in California, and critics are questioning dozens of individual settlements with black farmers she previously handled at the U.S. Justice Department.